Individual film directors Books

Book SynopsisA brilliant biography of the young Orson Welles, from his prodigious childhood and youth, his triumphs with the Mercury Theatre, to the making of Citizen Kane. Vivid, vastly entertaining, this is the definitive Welles biography.Trade ReviewA book of titanic achievement * Daily Telegraph *Simon Callow's brilliant account of the early years is the best Welles book yet -- David HareCallow is not just that rare phenomenon, an actor who can write. He is a superb biographer. His description of the making of Kane is masterly... This is an extraordinary book with extraordinary insights -- Godfrey Hodson * Independent *A knock-down, brass-bound, copper-bottomed triumph...tremendous fun to read... It is Simon Callow's triumph that at the end of this book Orson Welles comes before us just as Oscar Wilde did at the end of Richard Ellmann's superb biography -- Keith Baxter * Daily Telegraph *Welles might seem a difficult subject for a new biography. The legend is already pretty much written in stone. Callow's achievement is threefold: he embraces his subject with such gallumphing energy that the extraordinary power of his subject is conveyed as if for the first, fascinating time; he attempts a sober reassessment, trying to get an honest measure of someone who seemed larger than life...and he provides a genuinely interesting actor's view of the actor -- Nigella Lawson * The Times *

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Book SynopsisThe Moving Form of Film: Historicizing the Medium through Other Media charts the ways in which crossing borders between film and other arts and media can provide an encompassing, inclusive, and non-teleological understanding of film history. Evolutionary narratives of cinema have traditionally adopted the Second World War as a watershed that separates ''classical'' Hollywood films from ''modern'' European productions, a scheme that subjects the entire world to the cinematic history of two hegemonic centres. In turn, histories of film as a technological medium have focused on the specificity of cinema as it gradually separated from the other art and medial forms - theatre, dance, fairground spectacle, painting, literature, still photography and other pre-cinematic modes. Taking an ambitious step forward with relation to these approaches, this book focuses on the fluid quality of the film form by exploring an array of exciting and often neglected artistic expressions worldwide as they compare and interconnect films across temporal, geographical, and cultural borders. By observing the ebb and flow of film''s contours within the bounds of other artistic and medial expressions, the chapters aspire to establish a flexible historical platform for the moving form of film, posited, from production to consumption, as a transforming and transformative medium.Trade ReviewThis is a truly remarkable volume, not just on account of its list of distinguished contributors. Using intermediality as its method, this collection manages to establish this most precious of balance: a study of film form that never loses sight of the medium's historicity. Naguib and Solomon's book literally brims with useful theorizations and concepts. * Martine Beugnet, Université de Paris *Table of ContentsTable of Contents List of Illustrations Contributors Acknowledgements Introduction - Stefan Solomon and Lúcia Nagib Part I - Methodologies 1. Hegel, Cinema and the Other Arts Alain Badiou 2. One-Dimensional Man? A Reply to Alain Badiou James Hellings 3. Hybrid Variations on an Intermedial Theme Robert Stam 4. Parallax Historiography and Metareference: The intramedial case of Nagasaki Shunichi's Heart, Beating in the Dark Mark Player Part II - Technologies and Environments 5. Intermediality and the Carousel Slide Projector Julian Ross 6. Up the Junction, Intermediality and Social Change Sarah Street 7. When the Past is Present: Digital Cinema and the Philosophical Toys of Pre-Cinema Ismail Xavier 8. Panoramic Views, Planetary Visions: An Intermedial Analysis of Medium Earth and Walden Tiago de Luca 9. Elemental Intermedia Stefan Solomon Part III - National and Regional Phenomena 10. Cinema from the perspective of the stage: for an integrated history of theatrical entertainment in Brazil Luciana Corrêa de Araújo 11. Flamenco on Screen: The Intermedial Legacy of Carmen Amaya in Bajarí Albert Elduque 12. Impurity and Identification: Historicising Chinese Cinema through the Opera Cecília Mello 13. Historicising the Story through Film and Music: An Intermedial Reading of Heimat 2 Lúcia Nagib Part IV - Intermedial Artists 14. Stephen Dwoskin, an Intermedial Artist Rachel Garfield, Jenny Chamarette and Darragh O'Donoghue 15. Intermedial Voices: Intersections in feminist sound and moving image Claire M. Holdsworth 16. Entanglements of Intermediality: Polanski, Pinter, Steptoe and Son Jonathan Bignell 17. The Intermedial Reworking of History in Peter Greenaway's The Tulse Luper Suitcases Trilogy Fátima Chinita Index

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Book SynopsisIn this critical study, Joseph McBride offers new ways to understand Wilder's work, stretching from his days as a reporter and screenwriter in Europe to his distinguished as well as forgotten films as a Hollywood writer and his celebrated work as a writer-director.Trade ReviewA searching new study by the film historian Joseph McBride. -- Andrew O’Hagan * The New York Review of Books *A remarkable biographical and critical treatment. -- Carl Rollyson * San Francisco Chronicle *A trenchant reappraisal of Wilder’s half-century-long career. -- Noah Isenberg * The Nation *[A] brilliant exegesis of Wilder’s life and work . . . [McBride's] approach works well, illuminating Wilder’s themes and obsessions across the entire span of a lifetime, and therefore across almost the entire twentieth century. -- A. S. Hamrah * Bookforum *Easily the most insightful, lively, and thought-provoking book on film I’ve come across this year; no one is better than McBride when it comes to exploring and clarifying the complex intersection between cultural, historical, and psychological forces that yields an artist’s work, and his volume on Wilder is as good as anything he’s ever written – which means it’s as good as anything any film critic has ever written. -- Jim Hemphill * Filmmaker Magazine *Urgent and essential. * Cineaste *Joseph McBride-penned biography on the legendary Billy Wilder. Need any more words be said? -- Joshua Brunsting * CriterionCast *What we really appreciate is the organized approach and his entertaining prose, not a given in serious film studies. Billy Wilder comes alive as a remarkable man… Of all of Joseph McBride’s film books, I think this is the one I’ve enjoyed the most . . . it’s a serious contender for film book of 2021. -- Glenn Erickson * CineSavant *A comprehensive, invaluable critical study of one of the most admired and enduring filmmaker-satirists of the post-World War II era . . . Billy Wilder: Dancing on the Edge shares the complexity and humanity of its subject and his films. It is highly recommended. -- David Walsh * World Socialist Web Site *This book, like Wilder’s films, excised Wilder’s phantoms of the past and informed us of the versatility of his International filmography. * RealWeegieMidget Reviews *Joseph McBride is one of the best film critics and historians. His Billy Wilder is a crowning achievement. He casts considerable new light on Wilder’s early life in Vienna and Berlin and reevaluates his artistic status, including his great later work. The cliché of Wilder as cynic and misanthrope is not to McBride’s taste. Instead, he reveals the complexity of the man and the coherence of his eclectic oeuvre. -- Michel Ciment, editor of PositifOnly Joseph McBride could have given us Billy Wilder in such fullness, as he’s done previously with Lubitsch, Ford, and other masters. The breadth of research is staggering, yet it is always placed at the service of McBride’s free ruminative style, unbound by dutiful chronological study—instead, we have a sensibility, and a conversation. By placing the production histories and legacies of collaboration into the widest possible historical frame, McBride reanimates Wilder’s life and art, returning us to the masterpieces to see them with fresh eyes, and hungry to discover the films we’ve missed. -- Jonathan Lethem, author of The Ecstasy of Influence: Nonfictions, Etc.With his walk-on-the-dark-side comedies and refusal to sentimentalize, Wilder’s reputation has only grown with time, and this magisterial critical study does full justice to his complex talent. McBride draws stunning connections between the life and the art, and his discussion of Wilder’s treatment of women is especially fresh and persuasive. Both massive and entertaining, this is a must-read for Wilder fans. -- Molly Haskell, film critic and authorA superb study of Billy Wilder and an ideal companion to McBride’s recent How Did Lubitsch Do It? This book is rich with information about the Viennese/Weimar culture that helped shape Wilder and wonderfully attentive to his artistry. It’s the best critical account of a great filmmaker, showing exactly how he did it. -- James Naremore, author of More Than Night: Film Noir in Its ContextsThe most complete and profound study of Billy Wilder to date, one in which the work and the life illuminate each other, and two worlds that seemed separate are joined and complemented with unsuspecting coherence. A book that brings us closer to Wilder, humanizing and explaining him like no other. -- Fernando Trueba, director of Belle ÉpoqueUnquestionably the book of the year. * Damn Fool Idealistic Crusader YouTube channel *Engaging . . . McBride makes a convincing case that for all his wisecracks and moxie, Wilder was ultimately laughing to keep from crying. -- Matt Hanson * American Purpose *Joseph McBride has delivered the ultimate critical evaluation of Billy Wilder’s career as a journalist, screenwriter and film director. -- Gillian Kelly * Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television *Table of ContentsThe Phantoms of the Past1. Ausländisch2. “A Keen Observer”3. “Film, That’s No Profession for Adults”“Write Some Good Ones”4. “I Was Not in the Right Country”5. Brackettandwilder . . . and Lubitsch“Isn’t It Romantic?”6. Dancing on the Edge7. “Not a Funnyman but a Moralist”8. “I Am No Longer Afraid”9. “Tap-Dancing on the Grave of Hollywood”FilmographyNotes on SourcesAcknowledgments and InfluencesIndex

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Book SynopsisIan Nathan is one of the UK's best-known film writers. He is the author of eight previous books, including Alien Vault, the bestselling history of Ridley Scott's masterpiece, Terminator Vault, Burton, The Coen Brothers and Anything You Can Imagine: Peter Jackson and the Making of Middle-earth. He is the former editor and executive editor of Empire, where he remains a contributing editor.

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Book SynopsisWoody Allen is a uniquely innovative performer, writer and director with nearly fifty movies to his credit, from cult slapstick films and romantic comedies to introspective character studies and crime thrillers. This book deals with his life and work.Trade Review'Shone’s analysis is most piercing … [his] prose has a beauty of its own, abounding in nonchalantly exquisite turns of phrase' - Observer'Intelligently constructed' - Independent on Sunday'An extraordinary career is celebrated with behind-the-scenes shots and informative prose' - The Times'A luxuriant photo-history' - ProspectTable of ContentsIntroduction • The Early Years • The Hollywood Years • The Director • Take the Money and Run • Bananas • Play it Again, Sam • Everything you Always Wanted to Know about Sex... • Sleeper • Love and Death • Annie Hall • Interiors • Manhattan • Stardust Memories • A Midsummer Night’s Sex Comedy • Zelig • Broadway Danny Rose • The Purple Rose of Cairo • Hannah and her Sisters • Radio Days • September • Another Woman • Crimes and Misdemeanors • Alice • Shadows and Fog • Husbands and Wives • Manhattan Murder Mystery • Bullets over Broadway • Mighty Aphrodite • Everyone Says I Love You • Deconstructing Harry • Celebrity • Sweet and Lowdown • Small Time Crooks • The Curse of the Jade Scorpion • Hollywood Ending • Anything Else • Melinda and Melinda • Match Point • Scoop • Cassandra’s Dream • Vicky Cristina Barcelona • Whatever Works • You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger • Midnight in Paris • To Rome with Love • Blue Jasmine • Magic in the Moonlight • Conclusion • Filmography

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Book SynopsisThe mercurial Danish director of Dogville, Dancer in the Dark and Breaking the Waves offers his inimitable views on life and art in this fascinating, opinionated and witty addition to Faber''s ''Directors on Directors'' series.Lars Trier affected the lordly ''von'' in his name while still a film student, in homage to such great movie-makers of the past as von Sternberg and von Stroheim. His own brilliant directing career has been marked by similarly grand ambitions, and he is unique in having premiered all of his features - from the highly styled The Element of Crime to the digital-video-originated The Idiots - at the Cannes Film Festival. Trier is a rare item in contemporary cinema, a restless innovator and polemicist, as his participation in the back-to-basics Dogme95 movement attests; and these conversations with Stig Bjorkman, author of Bergman on Bergman and Woody Allen on Woody Allen, trace the evolution of his career an

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Book SynopsisNicolas Roeg is one of the most distinctive and influential film-makers of his generation. The generation of film-makers who define contemporary movie-making - Danny Boyle, Kevin Macdonald (The Last King of Scotland), Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight), James Marsh (Man on Wire), and Guillermo Del Toro (Pan''s Labyrinth), all acknowledge their debt to the work of Nicolas Roeg.Roeg began as a cameraman, working for such masters as Francois Truffaut and David Lean. His explosive debut as a director with Performance, established an approach to film-making that was unconventional and ever-changing, creating works such as Don''t Look Now, The Man Who Fell to Earth, Bad Timing, Insignificance, and, more recently, Puffball.Having now reached eighty years of age, Roeg has decided to pass on to the next generations, the wealth of wisdom and experience he has garnered over fifty years of film-making.

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Book SynopsisTwelve years ago, Amores Perros erupted in the cinemas across the world and announced the arrival of Mexican film-makers. The film-makers profiled in that book have now come of age and have made a decisive impact on the international cinema scene The last few years Mexican film-makers winning the Best Director Oscars 5 times, and Best Picture 4 times: Alfonso Cuaron with Gravity and Roma.Alejandro Inarritu with Birdman and The RevenantGuillermo del Toro with The Shape of WaterThis revised edition of The Faber Book of Mexican Cinema brings this astounding story up to date, as well as profiling the next generation, waiting in the wings.

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Book SynopsisChosen as one of Sight & Sound''s ''Best Film Books of the Year''John Boorman is one of the cinema's authentic visionaries, drawn to myths and dreams. The undisputed heir to David Lean, his films, such as Point Blank, Deliverance and Excalibur, exhibit a continual search for the truth that only art can convey. In Conclusions Boorman summarises what he has learned about the craft of film-making, and wishes to pass on to the next generation of film-makers. Into this tapestry of cinematic memories, he also weaves the story of his kith and kin, including the death of his cherished elder daughter, and an evocation of the forest of trees that he has planted as his final legacy.

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Book SynopsisThis new revised edition brings Mike Leigh's career up-to-date, including his film about J.M.W. Turner, Mr. Turner, and his epic masterpiece, Peterloo.Five-time Oscar nominee and BAFTA winner, the only British director to have won the top prize at both Cannes (for Secrets & Lies) and Venice (for Vera Drake) - Mike Leigh is unquestionably one of world cinema's pre-eminent figures. Now, in this definitive career-length interview, he reflects on all that has gone into the making of his unique body of work.In their commingling of bleakness and humour, Leigh's films recreate the tragi-comic world of people whose everyday lives are far from glamorous: a world in which 'the done thing' usually prevails, contrary to our inner hopes, wants or needs. Leigh's work has always reflected its times and entered the vernacular, whether the harsh studies of Meantime and Naked or the humour of the now-legendary Abigail's Party and Nuts i

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Book SynopsisA compelling story of African adventure, romance and intrigue, perfect for readers of bestselling true crime such as WHITE MISCHIEF and MIDNIGHT IN THE GARDEN OF GOOD AND EVIL.WILDFLOWER is the gripping life story of the naturalist, filmmaker and lifelong conservationist Joan Root. From her passion for animals and her hard-fought crusade to save Kenya''s beautiful Lake Naivasha, to her storybook love affair, Root''s life was one of a remarkable modern-day heroine. After 20 years of spectacular, unparalleled wildlife filmmaking together, Joan and Alan Root divorced and a fascinating woman found her own voice. Renowned journalist Mark Seal has written a breathtaking portrait of a strong woman discovering herself and fighting for her beliefs before her mysterious and brutal murder in Kenya.With a cast as wild, wondrous and unpredictable as Africa itself, WILDFLOWER is a real-life adventure tale set in the world''s disappearing wilderness. Rife with personal revelTrade ReviewA real crime book that is also a splendid biography, this is a poignant and gripping tale. * CATHOLIC HERALD *

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Book SynopsisStyle. Beauty. Passion. Vision.These are just a few of the words often used to describe the films of the single most celebrated director in Italy, and one of the most important directors the world has ever known,Federico Fellini. Fifty years since their initial releases, his films of the 1960s still inspire, shock, and delight. More than just encapsulating the ''60s, these films also helped define the style of the decade. With a staggering twelve Academy Award nominations between his four feature films during this period, Fellini reached the heights of fame, film artistry, and worldwide prominence. Studied, analyzed, and re-released over the years, these films continue to amaze each new generation that discovers them. Their impeccable style makes them timeless. Their images make them unforgettable. Their passion brings them to life. And their singular vision makes them unique in all of cinema. Fellini: The Sixties is a stunning photographic journey through the director''s most iconic Trade Review"Italy's most celebrated filmmaker gets a royal salute in Fellini: the Sixties, a lavishly illustrated tribute to director Federico Fellini and his iconic, often shocking movies of that era, including La Dolce Vita, 81/2 and Fellini Satyricon." -Parade.com "For Federico Fellini aficionados, the lavishly illustrated new book Fellini: The Sixties is the equivalent of a mouthwatering plate of spaghetti and a glass of the best Chianti. It's a fantastic voyage into the magical world of one of cinema's greatest masters..." -LA Times

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Book SynopsisClifford Thurlow is a writer and independent filmmaker. He co-produced Salvador Dali: A Biography and co-produced and presented The Dali Triangle for Yellowbay Films. The winner of a screenwriting award from EMDA, the European Media Development Award, his screenplay Zeitgeist is in development with Hub Media.Max Thurlow is a journalist who has written for a number of publications including the Daily Mail and the Independent. He has shot, edited and screened a number of travel and short films.Trade ReviewNobody should think about making a short film without reading this first. Thurlow takes new filmmakers through the steps of shooting film in a way that will save time and money. Plus it's a good read! -- Producer Jennifer Fate Velaise, Fate Productions, Los AngelesIt offers an opportunity for the rank outsider to learn how to present a film project in a manner that would convince the professionals. Thurlow brings his personable style to Making Short Films and turns what is effectively a step by step text book into an easily assimilated, fact packed tutorial with all the dynamism and panache of a contemporary novel. All in all an essential tool of the trade and indispensable for the embryonic auteur. -- Mike von Joel, State of ArtThis is the only book to describe and explain the whole process - from creating an original or adapted script, through producing and directing to finance and distribution. -- British Film MagazineMaking Short Films will be your ideal guide and will take you right through the process. -- Writing MagazineA riveting read, packed with rare anecdotes and expertly chosen examples from across the film world. And by weaving throughout tales from the likes of Cocteau, Bunuel or Fellini, Clifford Thurlow provides a refreshing and much needed focus on the artistic and creative - as well as the technical - aspects of filmmaking. -- Nic Wistreich, development director of Shooting People and co-author of Get Your Film FundedClifford Thurlow's book is the definitive must have for any filmmaker contemplating making and marketing a short. -- Elliot Grove, Director of RaindanceHeady stuff. Enough to make you feel like the next Spielberg. But why not? Someone has to be. And my guess is it will be someone who starts off reading Making Short Films. -- Terence Doyle, New Nude MagThe first edition was an unexpected bestseller and this expanded reprint is even better ... First class -- STATETable of ContentsIntroduction to Making Short Films PART I: WHO DOES WHAT 1. The Writer 2. The Producer 3. The Director 4. The Editor 5. The Crew PART II: HARDWARE 6. The Camera 7. Lighting 8. Sound and Music PART III: GETTING IT MADE 9. Crewing 10. Locations 11. Casting 12. Sound Design 13. Music and Post-Production 14. Trade Unions PART IV: FINANCE AND DISTRIBUTION 15. Finance 16. Distribution and Marketing PART V: INTERVIEWS WITH FILM-MAKERS 17. Daniel Mulloy 18. Jack Pizzey 19. David Forster 20. Marina Vroda 21. Paul Andrew Williams 22. One big-name director in addition: being pursued PART VI: SCRIPTS 23. Broken 24. Noise Control 25. GM 26. Room 11 27. The Cross by Marina Vroda PART VII: THE FILM BUFF 28. A Brief History of Short Films + Ten Shorts You Must See 29. Careers 30. Film schools PART VIII: USEFUL INFO Glossary Of Film Terms Film Festivals Useful Addresses in the UK Useful Addresses in the US Bibliography Acknowledgements Index

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Book SynopsisA fresh, innovative interpretation of the life, work and lasting influence of the twentieth century’s most iconic filmmaker.Trade Review"Edward White’s The Twelve Lives of Alfred Hitchcock is a pinata of literary pleasures. Learned and graceful, thoughtful and provocative, White cracks the Hitchcock code with deft analysis and fine writing. It’s a high-stepping performance full of humor and depth. Walking a tightrope between criticism and biography, White places both the man and his myth in the cultural landscape of his times. In the process, he returns us to the films with a much more informed eye. A book to keep and to return to." -- John Lahr, author of Tennessee Williams: Mad Pilgrimage of the Flesh"A provocative new way of thinking about biography... The radial structure vibrates, like Hitchcock’s best films, with intuition and mystery." -- Parul Sehgal - The New York Times"Perceptive and gracefully written, “The Twelve Lives of Alfred Hitchcock” is a bracing study of the master of suspense... It is a rare book that could pleasurably be twice as long." -- The Economist"White combines his interpretive zest with sensitivity, clarity and knife-sharp phrasing, smartly dedicating each of his 12 chapters to a different facet of the director's personality: the voyeur, the entertainer, the womaniser, the family man… Anatomising someone of Hitchcock's stature risks an equally chaotic frenzy of stabs, but with these 12 scalpel strokes White cuts close to his subject's heart." -- Victoria Segal - The Sunday Times""... innovative biography of Alfred Hitchcock... Tracking Hitchcock's contemporary influence, White is an enterprising tour guide... I was happy to be reminded of Cornelia Parker’s PsychoBarn, constructed in 2016 on the roof of the Metropolitan Museum in New York... And thanks to White, I went on an excursion to Leytonstone, Hitchcock’s birthplace in east London... I was also pleased to learn from White about the lewd Hitchcock tribute in Eminem’s Music to Be Murdered By." -- Peter Conrad - The Observer

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Book SynopsisGeoffrey Macnab writes regularly on film for The Independent. He is also a senior correspondent at Screen International. His books include Dennis Davidson: A Life in Cinema (2020), Stairways to Heaven: Rebuilding the British Film Industry (I.B. Tauris, 2018), Ingmar Bergman: The Life and Films of the Last Great European Director (I.B. Tauris 2009), Delivering Dreams: A Century of British Film Distribution (I.B. Tauris 2015), The Making of Taxi Driver, Searching for Stars: Stardom and Screen Acting in British Cinema (I.B. Tauris 2000), Screen Epiphanies (BFI Publishing 2009) and J. Arthur Rank and the British Film Industry(1993). He lives in London, UK.Trade ReviewThis collection succeeds admirably in providing profiles of many individuals who are ‘generally overlooked in conventional histories of British cinema’, thereby making a very useful contribution to that history, illuminating some of its obscurities but also its complexity and variety. * Journal of British Cinema and Television *I grew up devouring books about the business and the people who work in it. They opened my eyes to so many moving parts of the industry and I have always found the career journeys of filmmakers and studio pioneers, VFX wizards, props masters, distributors and publicists as extraordinary as the films they have brought to the big screen. The British Film Industry in 25 Careers is a must-read for anyone planning to work in this industry, revealing the risk-taking decisions, business and creative instincts, entrepreneurial spirit, and passion for film of so many of my heroes and peers. The UK film industry has much to offer the next generation coming into the business and as documentary specialist distributor Andy Whittaker aptly quotes Mancunian broadcaster and music pioneer Tony Wilson in the book, 'We are on this planet for 50 to 100 years - so just do things. Don't let barriers get in your way'. * Ben Roberts, BFI Chief Executive *Geoffrey Macnab’s book is enlightening about many figures we don’t know about who are working in or have worked in cinema. I found the chapter about Betty Box particularly enriching, a trailblazing woman who got equal pay with men from the Rank Organisation in 1954. Read and be amazed! * Jeremy Thomas, film producer, founder and chairman of Recorded Picture Company *Table of ContentsForeword by Andy Leyshon, Chief Executive, Film Distributors Association Acknowledgements Introduction 1. Michael Balcon 2. Richard Attenborough 3. David Puttnam 4. Betty Box 5. John Maxwell 6. Muriel Box 7. Efe Cakarel 8. Mickey Pugh 9. Isaac Julien 10. Adrienne Fancey 11. Poppa Day 12. Alma Reville 13. Val Guest 14. Liz Wrenn 15. Karel Reisz 16. Constance Smith 17. Anthony MInghella 18. Hanif Kureishi 19. Julian Fellowes 20. Eve Gabereau 21. Andy Whittaker 22. Maxine Leonard 23. Amma Asante 24. Julian Richards 25. Tim Webber Conclusion Index

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Book SynopsisIstván Szabó is one of the few Hungarian filmmakers to have earned a major international reputation over the past half century. This thoughtful and original book is the first examination of Szabó's contribution to contemporary thought, engaging the troubled history of Europe in the 20th and 21st centuries. István Szabó's importance as a filmmaker lies not only in his attention to film's formal elements but in his deep and ongoing engagement with some of the most urgent ethical and existential questions of our time. With detailed analyses of István Szabó's major films, from his 1960s works to his Academy Award for Best Foreign Film winner, Mephisto, and on through Szabó's last film in 2020, Final Report, Susan Rubin Suleiman focuses on four important questions pertaining to existential choice: to leave home or to stay in a communist country? To collaborate or not with an authoritarian regime? To affirm or to deny one's Jewishness in the face of antisemitism? To seek or to give Trade ReviewSusan Suleiman’s book touched me deeply and it was interesting even for me. I was surprised by several connections that I had never thought of, but they are very true. * István Szabó *Drawing on her previous studies of exile and memory, and inspired by her own investigation of roots, Susan Rubin Suleiman’s engagement with István Szabó’s films presents a compelling and essential analysis of his continuing exploration of the themes of community, Hungarian-Jewish identity, and the individual’s ‘search for security’. * Peter Hames, Author of Czech and Slovak Cinema: Theme and Tradition (2010), and Visiting Professor in Film Studies, Staffordshire University, UK *Susan Suleiman’s landmark book, István Szabó: Filmmaker of Existential Choice, brilliantly illuminates the neglected oeuvre of a major Academy Award-winning Central European director. Foregrounding Szabó’s lifelong concern with the impact of historical forces on the fate of his protagonists, each chapter engages deeply with the urgent ethical and existential questions of our time. * Catherine Portuges, Founding Program Director and Founding Curator of the Massachusetts Multicultural Film Festival, USA *Table of ContentsIntroduction: Encountering István Szabó 1. To Leave or to Stay? Existential Choices under Communism Getting around the Censor in the 1960s Leaving and Its Consequences in Lovefilm Those Who Stay: Visions of Home in the 1970s 2. What Price Glory? The Talented Individual and State Power Step by Step: The Road to Degradation in Mephisto Responsibility in the Rearview Mirror: Taking Sides The Parvenu’s Dilemma: Loyalty and Alienation in Colonel Redl 3. To Be or Not To Be Jewish? Identity as Choice or as Fate The “Jewish Question” for Jews Jews in Hungarian Cinema under Communism Jewish Identity and Its Vicissitudes in Sunshine 4. Living Together? The Idea of Community after Communism “A Metaphor for Europe”? Passions and Music in Meeting Venus Hanging On: Precarious Lives in Sweet Emma, Dear Böbe “Poor Hungary”: Relatives and Final Report References List of Figures Films Index

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Book SynopsisAs we approach the end of the era of the witness', given the passing on of the generation of Holocaust survivors, Claude Lanzmann's archive of 220 hours of footage excluded from his ground-breaking documentary Shoah (1985) offers a remarkable opportunity to encounter previously unseen interviews with survivors and other witnesses, recorded in the late 1970s. Although the archive is all available freely to view online and includes extra footage of those who appear in Shoah, this book focuses on the interviews from which no extracts appear in the finished film or in any subsequent release. The material analysed features interviews with such significant figures as the former partisan Abba Kovner, wartime activist Hansi Brand, Kovno Ghetto leader Leib Garfunkel, rescuer Tadeusz Pankiewicz and members of Roosevelt's War Refugee Board, and focuses throughout on the efforts at rescue and resistance by those within and outside occupied Europe. Sue Vice contends that watching and Trade ReviewClaude Lanzmann’s Shoah is notorious not only for its length but for the huge quantity of its outtakes. Vice’s book not only demonstrates that the daunting outtake material demands to be viewed, but also provides a model of how to read it. -- Dominic Williams, Northumbria University, UKTable of ContentsIntroduction: Reacting to Genocide 1. Abba Kovner: ‘Like Sheep to the Slaughter’ 2. Hansi Brand: ‘Selling One’s Soul’ 3. Indirect Testimony: Rabbi Michael Weissmandl 4. Ghetto Rescue and Resistance: Tadeusz Pankiewicz, Hersh Smolar and Leib Garfunkel 5. Communal Testimony and the War Refugee Board: Peter Bergson, Roswell McClelland, John Pehle and Robert Reams 6. Leadership, Responsibility and Resistance: Yehuda Bauer, Richard Rubenstein, Ya’akov Arnon 7. Allied Responses: Henry Feingold in New York, Shmuel Zygielboim in London Conclusion Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisIt would be easy to dismiss the films of Douglas Sirk (1897-1987) as brilliant examples of mid-century melodrama with little to say to the contemporary world. Yet Robert Pippin argues that, far from being marginal pieces of sentimentality, Sirk''s films are rich with irony, insight and depth. Indeed Sirk''s films, often celebrated as classics of the genre, are attempts to subvert rather than conform to rules of conventional melodrama.The visual style, story and characters of films like All That Heaven Allows, Written on the Wind and Imitation of Life are explored to argue for Sirk as an incredibly nuanced moral thinker. Instead of imposing moralising judgements on his characters, Sirk presents them as people who do ''wrong'' things often without understanding why or how, creating a complex and unsettling ethics. Pippin argues that it this moral ambiguity and ironic richness enables Sirk to produce films that grapple with important themes such as race, class and gender witTrade ReviewWho needs Hegel, Heidegger,or Derrida when you’ve got Douglas Sirk? Once again, Robert B. Pippin shows that philosophy still has a lot to learn from the movies. In the bold colors and improbable plots of Sirk’s melodramas he finds important lessons not just about race, class, and gender, but also—and perhaps more importantly—about the limits of moral inquiry. * Martin Woessner, Associate Professor of History & Society, Center for Worker Education, The City College of New York (CUNY), USA *Professor Pippin’s book provides extraordinary and perceptive insights into Douglas Sirk’s Hollywood films. The book unravels a range of arguments with admirable clarity while paying attention to Sirk’s visual style, as well to as his uses of story and character. Pippin argues that characters in these films often perform actions in ways that are beyond their understanding. This provides these films with a very particular moral atmosphere in which good characters do ‘wrong’ things, but in ways that, for the most part, engage our sympathy and admiration. * Richard Rushton, Senior Lecturer in Film, Lancaster University, UK *In this wonderfully provocative study, Robert Pippin explores three of Sirk’s most famous American melodramas, finding in their excesses and irony a philosophical rigour. Ingeniously, Pippin explains how Sirk’s sumptuously pessimistic world forecloses, for the characters, any real possibility of love, mutuality and self-knowledge, despite the putative happy endings. For viewers willing to give Sirk’s films a “second” or “third thought”, however, Pippin teaches us to see past the surface of bourgeois morality and discover a more difficult but worthwhile reckoning with “the politics of American emotional life” and our own complicities with its sympathetic registers. * Jennifer Fay, Professor and Chair of Cinema & Media Arts and Professor of English, Vanderbilt University, USA *Table of Contentspreface acknowledgements Chapter One. Introduction: Irony as Subversion Chapter Two. Love and Class in All That Heaven Allows Chapter Three. Misplaced Moralism in Written on the Wind Chapter Four. Living Theater in Imitation of Life Conclusion bibliography index

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Book SynopsisUpdates and reapplies film theory to French director Claire Denis's films, with a particular focus on her most recent workTrade Review"This beautifully wide-ranging collection approaches Claire Denis's films through an impressively diverse set of methodologies. Thinking across dimensions of ethics and otherness, the body and its environments, the familial and the worldly, The Films of Claire Denis opens exciting new ways to encounter this rich body of work." -Rosalind Galt, King's College London

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Book SynopsisGeorge Lucas by Brian Jay Jones is the first comprehensive telling of the story of the iconic filmmaker and the building of his film empire, as well as of his enormous impact on cinema. At once a biography, a business manual, and a film history, George Lucas will, for the first time explore the life and work of a fiercely independent writer/director/producer who became one of the most influential filmmakers and cultural icons - a true game changer.On May 25, 1977, a problem-plagued, budget-straining, independent science fiction film opened in a mere thirty-two American movie theatres. Its distributor - 20th Century Fox - were baffled by the film. The film''s production had been a disaster from nearly day one, hampered by bad weather, malfunctioning props and ill-fitting costumes. But its release on a quiet Wednesday in May of 1977, changed cinema forever. The film was Star Wars.The fiercely independent thirty-three year-old George Lucas was just Trade ReviewMasterful and engaging: just what Lucas' fans and buffs, who love the nitty-gritty of filmmaking, have been waiting for. * Kirkus Reviews *George Lucas is a terrific book! Brian Jay Jones has pulled off the rare trick of a writing a biography that appeals to both hard-core fans and casual readers. It is filled with fascinating details, backed up by deep and dogged research, woven into a breezy, fast-paced story that effortlessly pulls the reader into Lucas's world. Future film buffs and historians will look back on George Lucas as a landmark achievement. * Debby Applegate, Winner of the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for The Most Famous Man in America: The Biography of Henry Ward Beecher *Like the famous opening shot of the very first Star Wars, George Lucas: A Life is sweeping, humbling, and instantly transports you into the world of the mad dreamer. Fellow nerds unite! Finally, we get a book that examines the history of a titan who really changed our lives. Beautifully obsessive and relishes every detail. Just like us. * Brad Meltzer *Maestro biographer Jones tackles another brilliant entertainer. The world knows George Lucas as the filmmaker who brought us Star Wars, one of the most iconic Hollywood franchises in history, but as Jones' in-depth, fascinating, and even gripping exploration reveals, Lucas is much more than a gifted storyteller... Jones digs deep to limn the highs and lows of Lucas' career and life, capturing his drive and innovation in crisp, sparkling prose. Masterful and essential for film and pop culture enthusiasts. * Booklist *The collective double take over Star Was never gets old... Jones, who comes to Lucas from a celebrated life of Jim Henson, tells a more straightforward story in definitive detail. * New York Times *Exhaustively chronicles the life and movies of George Lucas, arguably America's most successful filmmaker. Tells in granular detail how his films were produced: from initial concept and scriptwriting, to casting and location selections, to the filming and, most importantly for Lucas's process, the editing. Proves Lucas's singular legacy is well deserved. * Publishers Weekly *Engaging... Jones captures the bone-crushing work, the frustrations with film studio overlords and the near failures that resulted in ground-breaking films like American Graffiti and Star Wars * Jane Ciabattari, BBC *The most compelling part of Brian Jay Jones' very readable book covers the years in which this kid went from a provincial, and nearly rural, childhood to studying illustration and going to film school at the University of Southern California.... [Jones'] narrative of the ordeal [of making Star Wars] and triumph makes wonderful reading.... Jones is a good storyteller... he proves that an American billionaire can be an odd, brilliant but quite ordinary fellow. * San Francisco Chronicle *Lucas changed not only the way movies are made but even the way they are shown... Jones mines the literature on Lucas's life and work to produce an admirably comprehensive view. * Washington Post *A fast-paced portrait of the reclusive and visionary George Lucas. His rise from unknown, budget-stretched writer to film industry legend is all here. And it's told through anecdotes and insights that build out the man behind the creation. The perspectives from colleagues, competitors, mentors and friends are at times brutally honest.... It's the one biography for casual and die-hard fans alike. * Rolling Stone *

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Book SynopsisIn this first reappraisal of his filmography (1958-2009), readers are introduced toa new Chabrol, oneinfluenced by Balzac, Magritte, Kubrick.

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Book SynopsisBy blending film studies and cognitive sciences, Miklos Kiss and Steven Willemsen's study on 'Impossible Puzzle Films 'looks into the relation between complex storytelling and the mind.

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Book SynopsisThe first comprehensive collection on the subject of Hong Kong neo-noir cinema, this book examines the way Hong Kong has developed its own unique and culturally specific version of the neo-noir genre, while at the same time drawing on and adapting existing international noir cinemas.

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Book SynopsisMathew Abbott presents a powerful new film-philosophy through the cinema of Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami. Mathew Abbott argues that Kiarostami's films carry out cinematic thinking: they do not just illustrate pre-existing philosophical ideas, but do real philosophical work.

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Book SynopsisExplores the work and legacy of feminist documentary filmmaker, Habiba Djahnine.

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Book SynopsisExplores American horror remakes produced since 2000 within key cultural, industry and reception contexts

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Book SynopsisAs the first book-length study about Dolan, with case studies of key films like Mommy (2014), Tom at the Farm (2013) and It's Only the End of the World (2016), this volume explores the global reach of small national and subnational cinemas.

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Book SynopsisThe first English-language book to cover Danish cinema from the 1890s to the present day.Trade Review"Danish cinema has had a worldwide impact at least twice, through the Nordisk company's spectacular success before the First World War, then when Dogme 95 revitalised independent filmmaking on the threshold of the digital era. But of course there's much more to discover and assess. This shrewdly planned new history sheds fresh light on many aspects of Denmark's rich screen heritage, and also offers an exemplary model for 'small country' media history." -Ian Christie, Birkbeck College, University of London

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Book SynopsisThe Pulse in Cinema acknowledges that the pulse is felt in the body, yet also argues that the pulse has a wider reaching effect in cinema than simply the physiological response of the spectator to the image it's the affective force in cinema.

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Book SynopsisCompares censorship's distinct and varying profiles across five different national contexts - U.S.A., Britain, Canada, Australia, and France.

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Book SynopsisA Deleuzian analysis of the role of silence as chaotic interstice in sound film.

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Book SynopsisDevelops a theory of cinecepts: a new framework for how philosophy can proceed in and through film/video/audiovisual mediaTrade ReviewThis book closely examines the interconnections between cinema and philosophy; in line with, but also moving beyond Deleuze. The words "cinema" and "concepts" are here tightly bound up to shape a new theoretical development of audio-visual philosophy. It comes close to a specific version of what I have called "Image-Thinking". - Mieke Bal, author of Image-Thinking: Artmaking as Cultural AnalysisTable of ContentsAcknowledgements Preface Introduction Chapter 1. Towards a Theory of Cinecepts: A Reorganization of Deleuze's Categories Chapter 2. Setting the Stage: 2 or 3 Things, Le Gai Savoir, and Ici et Ailleurs Chapter 3. The Problem of the New: Ideas, Cinema, Concepts Chapter 4. Sonimage: A Problem Space and Six Embryonic Cinecepts Chapter 5. Rapprochement, Concepts, and Cineceptual Form Chapter 6. Scholarly Video Essays: A Critical Examination and A Cineceptual Alternative Chapter 7. Notes on Cinecepts as Multimedia Practice Abbreviations of Works by Gilles Deleuze References

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Book SynopsisCosta-Gavras: Encounters with History explores the life and work of the director intertwined with historical and socio-political events, from the early stages of his career: emigrating to France from Greece in 1955 and first studying at the Sorbonne, then focusing on filmmaking at IDHEC, now La Fémis. He became an internationally respected director, first with his Oscar-award winning film Z (1969) and continued with a vast array of films, including his most recent work, Adults in the Room (2019). His films portray the complexities of human nature, relationships challenged by historical and contemporary socio-political issues. In this overview of the director's films, the authors shed light on his encounters with history from his youth in war-torn Greece to his later films on immigration, unemployment, global capitalistic greed, and the abuse of political and economic power in Europe.Costa-Gavras'' films have spanned several decades and several continents, to combatTrade ReviewThe authors of this book contribute significantly to a thorough understanding of the historical background of the entire work of Costa-Gavras. With an apt classification of films based on historical themes rather than chronology, they provide an in-depth insight into how the director highlights the effects of the past on the present and the collective memory. * Mado Spyropoulou, Associate Researcher, Paris University 3, Sorbonne Nouvelle, CERLIS, France *Long-time film history scholar John Michalczyk and his wife, film and literature professor Susan Michalczyk, both documentary filmmakers, collaborate once again to give us a much needed update of the political cinema of Costa-Gavras. Together, they do an admirable job of discussing 14 of his landmark films made over 50 years, from Z to Adults in the Room. Deeply researched, filled with anecdotes, and amply illustrated, their volume reveals the way that this pivotal director has tackled the crucial social and political issues of our times, from the terrors of fascism and Communism, to the ongoing abuses of capitalism and the crisis of migration. There is no better survey of the work of the legendary director. * Steve Kovacs, Professor Emeritus, School of Cinema, San Francisco State University, USA *Along with offering a detailed, informative history of Costa-Gavras's extraordinary political films, the Michalczyks also reveal how real-world politics, usually of oppression and corruption, affected this legendary director's humane view of social justice in modern global history. * Homer B. Pettey, Professor Emeritus, University of Arizona, USA, and author of The Films of Costa-Gavras *The Michalczyks' book provides an insightful retrospective of the director's filmography and makes a compelling case for Costa-Gravras as one of the defining filmmakers of the second half of the twentieth century. ... Ultimately, Costa-Gavras's future legacy will be well served by this invaluable volume, which offers fresh insights and perspectives on the director's body of work. * Cineaste Magazine *Costa-Gavras: Encounters with History is the best book in English on one of the world’s most consequential and influential filmmakers, a compelling and informative blend of biography, historical and political contextualization, production history, and critical response to the films. It offers a renewed appreciation of the early and controversial classics as well as the lesser-known works and encourage readers to seek them out for screening or rescreening. * Gary Crowdus, Editor-in-Chief, Cineaste Magazine, USA *Table of ContentsList of Figures Dedication Acknowledgements Introduction Part One: A Fresh Political Genre on the Scene 1. Z (1969): A Greek Tragedy 2. The Confession (L’Aveu, 1970): In the Shadow of Kafka Part Two: Latin America: Costa-Gavras—“I am Not Anti-American” 3. State of Siege (Etat de siège, 1973): The Long Arm of the US 4. Missing (1982): An American “Disappeared” Part Three: Terrorism: The Worst is Yet to Come 5. Betrayed (La Main droite du diable, 1989): Homegrown Terrorism: 6. Hanna K. (1983): Terrorism and the Victims of the Victims Part Four: World War II: Apocalypse Then 7. Shock Troops (Un Homme de trop, 1967): Resistance Dilemma 8. Special Section (Section spéciale, 1976): Vichy and the French Government Puppets 9. Music Box (1990): A Matter of Conscience 10. Amen. (2002): From Euthanasia to the Final Solution Part Five: Social Issues: A Finger on the Pulse of Society 11. The Ax (Le Couperet, 2005): A Process of Elimination 12. Eden is West (Eden est à l’ouest, 2009): A Picaresque Odyssey 13. Capital (Le Capital, 2012): A Modern Robin Hood 14. Adults in the Room (2019): Greek Debt and a David vs. Goliath Batttle Epilogue Notes Authors Bibliography Filmography Index

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Book SynopsisLuminous presence: Derek Jarman's life-writing is the first book to analyse the prolific writing of queer icon Derek Jarman. Although he is well known for his avant-garde filmmaking, his garden, and his AIDS activism, he is also the author of over a dozen books, many of which are autobiographical. Much of Jarman's exploration of post-war queer identity and imaginative response to HIV/AIDS can be found in his books, such as the lyrical AIDS diaries Modern Nature and Smiling in Slow Motion. This book fully explores, for the first time, the remarkable range and depth of Jarman’s writing. Spanning his career, Alexandra Parsons argues that Jarman’s self-reflexive response to the HIV/AIDS crisis was critical in changing the cultural terms of queer representation from the 1980s onwards. Luminous presence is of great interest to students, scholars and readers of queer histories in literature, art and film.Trade Review'In this engrossing collection of essays, Parsons captures well Jarman’s frenetically creative impulses...'Choice(Reprinted with permission from Choice Reviews. All rights reserved. Copyright by the American Library Association) -- .Table of ContentsIntroduction1 'The porter into forgotten landscapes': A finger in the fishes mouth2 Dancing Ledge: 'An autobiography at forty'3 Derek Jarman’s Caravaggio: 'Reading between the lines of history'4 Becoming Pasolini: Derek Jarman in Ostia5 Kicking the Pricks: 'Forward into an uncertain future...'6 Self-Projection in film: The Last of England and The Garden7 Modern Nature: Haunting, flowers and personal mythologies8 Queer Edward II: 'Are you a closet bigot?'9 At Your Own Risk: A Saint's Testament10 Smiling in Slow Motion: Testimony and elegy11 'A kind of bliss': Blue and Chroma12 Derek Jarman’s Garden: A therapy and a pharmacopoeiaConclusion: 'The past is the mirror'BibliographyFilmographyIndex

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Book Synopsis''The novel''s dark energies - concerned with histories of gender, property, desire, and institutionalization - carry it forth into our present moment. It remains indispensable reading'' Claire Connolly from her preface to The Real CharlotteIn 1894, the London evening newspaper the St James''s Gazette announced ''a real acquisition'', a new novel from the publishers Ward and Downey. It was the first collaborative success of many for Somerville and Ross, two Irish women who were second cousins, received as a fresh, original, and funny treatment of Irish life.

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Book SynopsisIn 1978 animation director Yoshiyuki Tomino set forth to change the Japanese animation industry. For decades prior, Japanese science fiction had churned out numerous tales of semi-autonomous robots that would often come to the aide of humanity, but as someone who worked on a number of those works, Tomino came to the realization that he wanted to see a more realistic robot narrative. His vision was one where the robot while just slightly more human in appearance, was utilized more as a tool manipulated by man. With renowned artist Yoshikazu Yasuhiko by his side, and occasionally as his artistic rival, Tomino would change the way the whole world came to see Japanese animation and the broader toy and comics industries built around it. This evolution would be a war in its own right! Battles were fought in the offices of the animation studio! Conflicts were equally as heated in the recording booth!

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Book SynopsisCelebrate more than three decades of filmmaking by diving into the brilliant, twisted mind of Quentin Tarantino, and discover the artistic process of an Oscar-winning legend.Born in Knoxville, Tennessee, in 1963, Quentin Tarantino spent many Saturday evenings during his childhood accompanying his mother to the movies, nourishing a love of film that was, over the course of his life, to become all-consuming. The script for his first movie took him four years to complete: My Best Friend’s Birthday (1987), a seventy-minute film in which he both acted and directed. The script for his second film, Reservoir Dogs (1992), took him just under four weeks to complete. When it debuted, he was immediately hailed as one of the most exciting new directors in the industry. Known for his highly cinematic visual style, out-of-sequence storytelling, and grandiose violence, Tarantino’s films have provoked both praise and criticism over the course of his career. They’ve also won him a host of awards—including Oscars, Golden Globes, and BAFTA awards—usually for his original screenplays. His oeuvre includes the cult classic Pulp Fiction, bloody revenge saga Kill Bill Vol. 1 and Vol. 2, and historical epics Inglorious Basterds, Django Unchained, The Hateful Eight, and Once Upon a Time...In Hollywood.  Featuring an all-new chapter on the director’s latest award-winning film Once Upon a Time…In Hollywood, this stunning retrospective catalogs each of Quentin Tarantino’s movies in fascinating detail. The book is a tribute to a unique directing and writing talent, celebrating an uncompromising, passionate director’s enthralling career at the heart of cult filmmaking.

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Jim Jarmusch: Music, Words and Noise is the first book to examine the films of Jim Jarmusch from a sound-oriented perspective. The three essential acoustic elements that structure a film - music, words and noise - propel this book's fascinating journey through his work. Exploring the director's extensive back catalogue, including Stranger Than Paradise (1984), Down By Law (1986), Dead Man (1995), and Only Lovers Left Alive (2013) Sara Piazza's unique reading reveals how Jarmusch created a form of "sound democracy" in film, in which all acoustic layers are capable of infiltrating each other and in which sound is not subordinate to the visual. In his cultural melting pot, hierarchies are irrelevant: Schubert and Japanese noise-bands, Marlowe and Betty Boop can co-exist easily side-by-side. Developing the innovative idea of a Silent-Sound Film, Piazza identifies prefiguring elements from pre-sound-era film in Jarmusch's work. Highlighting the importance of Jarmusch's treatment of sound, Piazza investigates how the director's distinctive reputation consolidated itself over the course of a thirty-year career.Based in New York, Jarmusch was able to develop a fiercely personal vision far from the commercial pressures of Hollywood. The book uses wide-ranging examples from music, film, literature and visual art, and features interviews with many prominent figures including Ennio Morricone, Luc Sante, Roberto Benigni, John Lurie, and Jarmusch himself.An innovative account of a much-admired body of work, Jim Jarmusch will appeal not only to the many fans of the director, but also all those interested in the connections between sound and film.

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Book SynopsisDowntown Film and TV Culture 1975–2001 brings together essays by filmmakers, exhibitors, cultural critics and scholars from multiple generations of the New York Downtown scene to illuminate individual films and filmmakers and explore the creation of a Downtown Canon, the impact of AIDS on younger filmmakers, community access to cable television broadcasts, and the impact of the historic downtown scene on contemporary experimental culture. The book includes J. Hoberman’s essay ‘No Wavelength: The Parapunk Underground’, as well as historical essays by Tony Conrad and Lynne Tillman, interviews with filmmakers Bette Gordon and Beth B, and essays by Ivan Kral and Nick Zedd.Table of ContentsDowntown Cinema Revisited - Joan Hawkins Acknowledgements Downtown Body - Ward Shelley Part I: Moments Chapter 1: In the Movie-Viewing Machine: Essential Cinema and the 1970s - David Sterritt Chapter 2: No Wavelength: The Para-Punk Underground - J. Hoberman Chapter 3: At Last Real Movies: Super 8 Cinema from New York - Tony Conrad Chapter 4: Downtown’s Room in Hotel History - Lynne Tillman Part II: Scenes Chapter 5: The Blank Generation and Punk/Downtown History - Mark Benedetti Chapter 6: Birth of the Blank Generation - Ivan and Cindy Kral Chapter 7: Downtown Godard - Jonathan Everett Haynes Chapter 8: ‘A Crack in the Veneer’: A Conversation with Beth B - Beth B and Joan Hawkins Chapter 9: Lydia Lunch, The Right Side of My Brain - Chuck Kleinhans Chapter 10: Pleasure and Danger: Bette Gordon’s Variety - Joan Hawkins Chapter 11: Interview with Bette Gordon - Bette Gordon and Joan Hawkins Chapter 12: The Time of His Life: Spalding Gray - Laurie Stone Chapter 13: Mixing Blag Flag, DIY, Lo-Fi, and Oulipo: Jon Moritsugu’s Mommy Mommy Where’s My Brain - Jack Sargeant Chapter 14: Cast Iron TV and Friends: Artists’ Public Access in Manhattan - Terese Svoboda Chapter 15: TV Party: A Cocktail Party That Could Also be a Political Party - Benjamin Olin Chapter 16: The Case of Electra Elf: Towards New Possibilities of Underground Counterculture in the Twenty-First Century - Nick Zedd and David Sjöberg Chapter 17: Cock Worship: Todd Haynes, Fassbinder, and Queer Praxis - Chris Dumas Chapter 18: Downtown’s Queer Asides - Lucas Hilderbrand, Alexandra Juhasz, Debra Levine, and Ricardo Montez Part III: Memorials Chapter 19: Canonization and No Wave Cinema History - Mark Benedetti Chapter 20: The Downtown Scene in the Digital Era - Laurel Westrup Chapter 21: You Had to be There: The Downtown Archive and the Future of an Impossible Past - Richard Toon and Laurie Stone Chapter 22: The Centre Cannot Hold: Blank City (2010) and the Problems of Historicizing New York’s Independent Cinema of the Late 1970s and Early 1980s - Juan Carlos Kase Chapter 23: Experimental Film - Chris Kraus Filmography and Videography - Mark Benedetti

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Book SynopsisFor the first time, Oscar-winning production designer and director Roger Christian reveals his life story, from his earliest work in the British film industry to his breakthrough contributions on such iconic science fiction masterpieces as Star Wars, Alien and his own cult classic Black Angel. This candid biography delves into his relationships with legendary figures, as well as the secrets of his greatest work. The man who built the lightsaber finally speaks!Trade Review"a refreshing in-the-trenches look at how stuff came together on set in the movie that shaped a generation" - Rolling Stone "...a fascinating, engrossing tale of the mad dash that leads to movie magic, a tribute to the passion and drive needed to make cinematic art. ...a magic window into the past that only enhances the originals." - San Francisco Book Review (Five Star Review) “A really important release...for all Star Wars fans who want to talk with authority about that production I think this is a book you’ve just gotta get” - Rebel Force Radio “After reading Cinema Alchemist, you will absolutely watch Star Wars and Alien differently, and notice details of the film you haven’t seen in your previous 300 viewings of the films. That is quite a feat.” - Borg.com “A wonderful resource for those interested in the movie business” - Adventures in Poor Taste“Roger is more than just a set designer and art director, he is a creative builder of visual dreams for films. Film historians and cinema buffs will want to pick-up this book as part of their film library.” - Retrenders

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Book SynopsisFew novelists have taken films as seriously, or been closely involved in so many aspects of the film business all their lives, as Graham Greene. Even at University he was touching on it. His long-term experience of the evolving art included producing, performing, script-writing and adaptation. Not to mention the libel case against him brought by Miss Shirley Temple for some disobliging words. Mornings in the Dark gathers some of Greene's best film criticism with a mass of related material: his film articles, interviews, lectures and radio talks, stories for film, letters and film proposals. With appendices on Greene's own films and unfulfilled film projects, and David Parkinson's introduction, this is an essential collection for readers of fiction and film enthusiasts alike.Trade Review'I well remember, when I was beginning as a film critic, reading with the most passionate envy the writings of Graham Greene in the Spectator... [I]t struck me that this was the kind of thing that film criticism should be.' - Dilys Powell, The Listener

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Book SynopsisA lavish hardback containing Orson Welles' Portfolio, much of which has never been seen before. Orson Welles, famous as an accomplished actor, writer, producer and visionary director, had originally aspired to become a musician or artist. Having studied at the Art Institute of Chicago for one summer, he continued to draw and paint throughout his life. The majority of his artwork, including costume and set designs and caricatures, has been unavailable to the public. Until now.Trade Review“a treasure trove of previously unseen [work]” - Flavorwire Gallery Feature“[a] fascinating new coffee table book” - The Daily Beast“an essential read for Welles fans...Welles was a fascinating man for various reasons, and more than anything, this book highlights just how one-of-a-kind and unique he truly was” - Film School Rejects “Wondrously illuminating” - The Film Stage

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Book SynopsisWerner Herzog came to fame in the 1970s as the European new wave explored new cinematic ideas. With films like Signs of Life (1968), Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972), The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser (1974) and Fitzcarraldo (1982), Herzog became the subject of public debate, particularly due to his larger-than-life characters, often played by the mad Klaus Kinski. After the success of his documentary Grizzly Man (2005), Herzog began to lead a new form of hybrid documentary, and his tough attitude towards life and film made him a director’s director for a new generation. Kristoffer Hegnsvad’s award-winning book guides the reader through films depicting gangster priests, bear whisperers, shoe eating, revolutionary filmmakers. . . and a penguin. It is full of rare insights from Herzog’s otherwise secret Rogue film school, and features interviews with Herzog.Trade Review“Hegnsvad’s book about the German filmmaker Werner Herzog is not a journalistic examination of cinema, but a philosophical journey into the creative workshop of a remarkable artist. Through conversational partners like Benjamin, Adorno, Nietzsche, and Deleuze, the book deals with questions like: What is cinema? What is the relationship between imagery and truth? Different concepts of the movie director—as philosopher, ethnologist, explorer, and scientist—are also discussed. It’s a study about what it requires to be curious about the world, about life, and about pushing the limits when it comes to how this curiosity is pursued.” * Modern Times Review *“Hegnsvad has written an insightful and well-communicated book, which provides independent and new insights into Werner Herzog’s films.” * Danish Arts Foundation, "Ten Best Books of 2018," on the Danish edition *"Solitary searcher and skillful self-promoter Werner Herzog is an artist whose cinematic visions, fictional or not, are invariably documentaries about himself. Curious and awed, his erudite sometime student Hegnsvad reveals a recondite Herzog personality no less fascinating than his films." -- J. Hoberman, author of "Film After Film""Hegnsvad’s book is a breathtaking and beautifully illustrated journey through Herzog’s many conquests. It is meant for anyone who wants to know what goes on at the Rogue Film School or acquire insight into the director’s exploits without having to drag a ship over a mountain, walk from Vienna to Munich, or eat their own shoes. If you've ever found yourself longing to become a member of Herzog’s guerrilla band of gangster priests, you will probably enjoy this book." -- Brad Prager, professor of German and film studies, University of Missouri"In this lively and perceptive book, Hegnsvad stages a wonderful encounter between the work of cinema's most peripatetic master, and the nomadic thinking that can deepen our appreciation and solicit our participation in Werner Herzog's marvelous life journey." -- James Schamus

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Book SynopsisChristopher Nolan occupies a rare realm within the Hollywood mainstream, creating complex, original films that achieve both critical acclaim and commercial success. In The Traumatic Screen, Stuart Joy builds on contemporary applications of psychoanalytic film theory to consider the function and presentation of trauma across Nolan’s work, arguing that the complexity, thematic consistency and fragmentary nature of his films mimic the structural operation of trauma. From 1997’s Doodlebug to 2017’s Dunkirk, Nolan’s films highlight cinema’s ability to probe the nature of human consciousness while commenting on the relationship between spectator and screen. Joy examines Nolan’s treatment of trauma – both individual and collective – through the formal construction, mise en scène and repeated themes of his films. The argument presented is based on close textual analysis and a methodological framework that incorporates the works of Sigmund Freud and Jacques Lacan. The first in-depth, overtly psychoanalytic understanding of trauma in the context of the director’s filmography, this book builds on and challenges existing scholarship in a bold new interpretation of the Nolan canon.Trade Review'Nolan's films have been explored in a number of critical works, but this is the first study to examine his work—from Doodlebug (1997) to Dunkirk (2017)—from a psychoanalytic perspective. The characters in Nolan’s films typically have undergone a traumatic experience and must reconcile past memories in order to move forward. [Joy's] synthesized approach to trauma [...] looks at themes of time, memory, identity, and narrative, motifs that are recurring elements in Nolan's films. For example, he takes a Freudian approach to exploring how the murder of the parents of the young Bruce Wayne (Batman) affected Wayne's development. A solid addition to the literature on Nolan.' -- CHOICE'Stuart Joy’s The Traumatic Screen provides a careful and accurate analysis of the films of one of the most important contemporary directors: Christopher Nolan. Nolan’s films are not without criticism, and the final analysis might reveal that only a few of the (justly) lauded works of Christopher Nolan are truly worthy of the appellation “great.” Nonetheless, the best of Christopher Nolan’s films are delightful intellectual puzzles that help provide a deeper understanding of human nature, and Stuart Joy’s The Traumatic Screen is a helpful guide to Nolan’s labyrinthian films.' -- Jesse Russell, Voegelinview'Overall, a good arc is drawn across the structure of the entire book, which repeatedly takes up the central themes of trauma, desire, time and melancholy and substantiates them using film examples. The analysis sections, each of which deals with the respective film in great detail, are written in a particularly comprehensible and clear manner. Even for readers who have not seen the films, Joy has been able to close gaps in the content with concise summaries and provides a very informative overall picture. [...] The author goes into great theoretical depth, which is why this work is definitely useful for further professional work.' -- David Brosch, MEDIENwissenschaft: Rezensionen | Reviews [translated]Table of ContentsIntroduction 1. The Traumatic Screen: Trauma, Psychoanalysis and Cinema 2. Revisiting the Scene of the Crime: Repressing the Past in Insomnia 3. Batman Begins, Again: The Temporality of Trauma in The Dark Knight Trilogy 4. Looking for the Secret: The Intersection between Trauma and Desire in The Prestige 5. The Dream has Become Their Reality: Acting-Out and Working-Through Trauma in Inception 6. Beyond the Void: Interstellar and the Possibilities of Post-Traumatic Growth 7. Keep Calm and Carry On: Combating Collective Trauma in Dunkirk 8. Conclusion – Ending at the Beginning with Doodlebug, Following and Memento

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Book SynopsisThe Naples-born director and screenwriter Paolo Sorrentino has, to date, written and directed nine films, winning an Oscar, a Bafta and a Golden Globe for The Great Beauty in 2013. In 2016, he created and directed his first TV series, The Young Pope, which starred Jude Law. John Malkovich joined the cast in 2020 for the follow-up series. He has established himself as a world-leading auteur with a list of critically acclaimed and award-winning films. This is an invaluable contribution to the existing literature on Sorrentino and is the first English language collection dedicated to this prolific director, who has emerged as one of the most compelling figures in twenty-first-century European film. International contributors from the UK, Italy, France, The Netherlands, Australia, Israel, Canada and the United States, Italy, Israel, France, UK, Australia, Canada, offer original interpretations of Sorrentino’s work. They examine his recurrent grand themes of memory, nostalgia, ageing, love, thirst for fulfilment, search for the self, identity crisis, human estrangement, marginality, irony and power. In so doing, they offer new perspectives and unique cues for discussion, challenging established assumptions and interpretations. Important and current themes such as eco-cinema and post-secularism are addressed as well as the links between Sorrentino’s highly visual cinema and artistic practice such as painting and architecture. While there are several books on Sorrentino available in Italian, none of these provide an authoritative account of his work; and language has restricted the readership. This is the first English-language collection focussed on Sorrentino, arguably the most successful and significant contemporary Italian filmmaker. The majority of the chapters included in this new book are original and it also includes a Foreword by Giancarlo Lombardi, Professor of Italian and Comparative Literature at CUNY, and an interview with renowned costume designer Carlo Poggioli, who has worked with Sorrentino on many productions. Some of the chapters were previously published in a special issue of the journal JICMS – The Journal of Italian Cinema and Media Studies in 2019. The new collection makes a significant coherent contribution to the field. Primary readership will be academics, researchers and scholars of Italian film and media studies. Also post-graduate students and upper level under-graduates. Potential to be used as textbook or as supplementary reading for undergraduate and graduate courses Given the subject, there is a possibility for some crossover appeal to a broader readership, but this is primarily a scholarly text.Trade Review'This is an extremely valuable contribution to Sorrentino scholarship that, especially when read in conjunction with Kilbourn’s monograph, provides a provocative, wide-ranging and thought-provoking overview of Sorrentino’s originality and significance. Moreover, it does not fail to engage with the more controversial and divisive aspects of his work, such as his treatment of gender (addressed in essays by Russell Kilbourn and Nicoletta Marini-Maio) and alleged privileging of style over content (addressed in essays by Lydia Tuan and Michela Barisonzi). The book should be of great interest to anyone concerned with Italian cinema, contemporary Italian culture, or the state of global film and television today. Sorrentino has finally achieved the recognition he deserves within academia and I am sure this exciting new collection will only serve as a spur to further scholarship.' -- Alex Marlow-Mann, Modern ItalyTable of ContentsAcknowledgments List of Illustrations Forward Giancarlo Lombardi Introduction: The Creative and Artistic Trajectory of Paolo Sorrentino Annachiara Mariani Part one: Examining and Deconstructing Sorrentino’s Ethos Chapter 1: Private Pain/Public Places: Sights, Sightings, and Sounds of Nostalgia in Youth and The Young Pope Ellen Nerenberg Chapter 2: Against Postmodernism. Paolo Sorrentino and the Search for Authenticity Mimmo Cangiano Chapter 3: A Journey from Death to Life: Spectacular Realism and the ‘Unamendability’ of Reality in Paolo Sorrentino’s The Great Beauty Monica Facchini Chapter 4: Paolo Sorrentino’s Cinematic Excess Lydia Tuan Part two: Sorrentino’s Real and Symbolic Spaces Chapter 5: Posthuman Sorrentino. Youth and The Great Beauty as Ecocinema Matteo Gilebbi Chapter 6: Interpolating the ‘blah, blah, blah’: Rome’s Vocalization Through Architecture in The Great Beauty Alex Gammon Chapter 7: The Great Beauty: A Journey Through Art and Relations in Search for Beauty Michela Barisonzi Chapter 8: The Urban Dimension as Film Character: Rome in The Great Beauty Carla Molinari Part three: A Journey into Sorrentino’s Psyche Chapter 9: The ‘Primal Scene’: Memory, Redemption and (The Image of) ‘Woman’ in the Films of Paolo Sorrentino Russell Kilbourn Chapter 10: Anxiety (of Influence) and (Absent) Fathers in Paolo Sorrentino Sandra Waters Chapter 11: ‘È solo l’alito di un vecchio’. Obscenity, Exchange Regimes, and the Catastrophe of Aging in Loro. Nicoletta Marini-Maio Part four: Sorrentino’s Postsecular Pope Chapter 12: The Young Pope’s Credit Sequence: A Postsecular Allegory in Ten Paintings. Russell Kilbourn Chapter 13: The ‘Fabrication’ of Religion in The Young Pope: the Double Irony of Post-Secular Iconicity Monica Jansen and Maria Bonaria Urban Chapter 14: The Young Pope Between Television and Celebrity Studies Anna Manzato and Antonella Mascio Interview with Carlo Poggioli (costume designer of Paolo Sorrentino) Annachiara Mariani Bibliography

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